PHUKET – A viral clip of foreign boxers and their cornermen fighting on a boxing ring, which has been widely criticized by netizens, was found that it took place at the Bangla Boxing Stadium in Patong, Phuket.
The incident occurred on May 26 during the final main event. The red corner was an Irish boxer, while the blue corner was a Russian boxer. As the ring announcer was about to announce the result, the blue corner boxer climbed onto the ropes and did a backflip into the center of the ring, confident that he would win the match.
However, it turned out that the judges raised the red corner’s hand as the winner with a score of 49 to 48. The Irish boxer then approached the Russian boxer and provoked him, causing the Russian boxer to become upset and a clash ensued on the stage. Their cornermen and trainers also rushed in and clashed, with some spectators sneaking onto the stage to join the brawl.
Nevertheless, the incident was resolved in less than 2 minutes, with security personnel and the ring announcer intervening to stop the fight. Afterwards, the winner was awarded the championship belt as usual, and the two boxers left the stage and the venue without further altercation. The stadium also allowed tourists to take pictures on the stage as usual.
However, the clips that were shared online only showed the brawl to attract attention, leading people to misunderstand that the violence had escalated. The stadium officials, therefore, would like to urge those who shared the clips to post the complete footage because the actual incident was not terrible or violent, and no one was injured.
On May 28, the Sports Authority of Thailand officials in Phuket summoned those involved in the incident to explain what happened and had the two boxers shake hands to apologize and express regret for the incident.
